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Phytochromes are widely distributed photoreceptors with a bilin chromophore that undergo a typical reversible photoconversion between the two spectrally different forms, Pr and Pfr. The phytochrome Agp2 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens belongs to the group of bathy phytochromes that have a Pfr ground state as a result of the Pr to Pfr dark conversion. Agp2 has untypical spectral properties in the Pr form reminiscent of a deprotonated chromophore as confirmed by resonance Raman spectroscopy. UV/visible absorption spectroscopy showed that the pKa is >11 in the Pfr form and ∼7.6 in the Pr form. Unlike other phytochromes, photoconversion thus results in a pKa shift of more than 3 units. The Pr/Pfr ratio after saturating irradiation with monochromatic light is strongly pH-dependent. This is partially due to a back-reaction of the deprotonated Pr chromophore at pH 9 after photoexcitation as found by flash photolysis. The chromophore protonation and dark conversion were affected by domain swapping and site-directed mutagenesis. A replacement of the PAS or GAF domain by the respective domain of the prototypical phytochrome Agp1 resulted in a protonated Pr chromophore; the GAF domain replacement afforded an inversion of the dark conversion. A reversion was also obtained with the triple mutant N12S/Q190L/H248Q, whereas each single point mutant is characterized by decelerated Pr to Pfr dark conversion.

Photoisomerization of biliverdin (BV) chromophore triggers the photoresponse in native Agp1 bacteriophytochrome. We discuss heterogeneity in phytochrome Pr form to account for the shape of the absorption profile. We investigated different regions of the absorption profile by angle balanced polarization resolved femtosecond VIS pump-IR probe spectroscopy. We studied the Pr form of Agp1 with its natural chromophore and with a sterically locked 18Et-BV (locked Agp1). We followed the dynamics and orientations of the carbonyl stretching vibrations of ring D and ring A in their ground and electronically excited states. Photoisomerization of ring D is reflected by strong signals of the ring D carbonyl vibration. In contrast, orientational data on ring A show no rotation of ring A upon photoexcitation. Orientational data allow excluding a ZZZasa geometry and corroborates a nontwisted ZZZssa geometry of the chromophore. We found no proof for heterogeneity but identified a new, to our knowledge, electronic transition in the absorption profile at 644 nm (S0→S2). Excitation of the S0→S2 transition will introduce a more complex photodynamics compared with S0→S1 transition. Our approach provides fundamental information on disentanglement of absorption profiles, identification of chromophore structures, and determination of molecular groups involved in the photoisomerization process of photoreceptors., (Copyright © 2013 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We performed steady state fluorescence measurements with phytochromes Agp1 and Agp2 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and three mutants in which photoconversion is inhibited. These proteins were assembled with the natural chromophore biliverdin (BV), with phycoerythrobilin (PEB), which lacks a double bond in the ring C-D-connecting methine bridge, and with synthetic bilin derivatives in which the ring C-D-connecting methine bridge is locked. All PEB and locked chromophore adducts are photoinactive. According to fluorescence quantum yields, the adducts may be divided into four different groups: wild type BV adducts exhibiting a weak fluorescence, mutant BV adducts with about 10-fold enhanced fluorescence, adducts with locked chromophores in which the fluorescence quantum yields are around 0.02, and PEB adducts with a high quantum yield of around 0.5. Thus, the strong fluorescence of the PEB adducts is not reached by the locked chromophore adducts, although the photoconversion energy dissipation pathway is blocked. We therefore suggest that ring D of the bilin chromophore, which contributes to the extended π-electron system of the locked chromophores, provides an energy dissipation pathway that is independent on photoconversion.

The natural chromophore of most bacterial and fungal phytochromes is biliverdin (BV), which is incorporated in a covalent manner into the protein. Upon photoconversion between the red light-absorbing form Pr and the far-red light-absorbing form Pfr, the stereochemistry of the chromophore around the C15 methine bridge changes from Z anti to E anti. Recombinant phytochromes Agp1 and Agp2 from Agrobacterium tumefaciens were assembled with a set of synthetic chromophores, including 2,18-Et-BV, 3,18-Et-BV, and the doubly locked 5Ea15Ea-BV, 5Es15Ea-BV, 5Za15Ea-BV, and 5Zs15Ea-BV. In all chromophores, covalent bond formation is restricted. As shown by spectral changes and desalting column separation, all chromophores are bound to Agp1 and Agp2. Adducts with 2,18-Et-BV and 3,18-Et-BV undergo normal photoconversion between Pr and Pfr. As opposed to typical phytochromes, the BV-Agp2 adduct converts from Pr to Pfr in darkness. However, the 2,18-Et-BV-Agp2 and 3,18-Et-BV-Agp2 adducts can undergo dark conversion from Pr to Pfr and Pfr to Pr, showing that ring A of the chromophore has a direct impact on the direction of dark conversion. The doubly locked chromophores were designed to probe for the stereochemistry of the C5 methine bridge in the Pfr form. The adducts with 5Es15Ea-BV and 5Zs15Ea-BV absorbed in the blue spectral range only. Therefore, the C5 E syn and Z syn stereochemistries are unlikely for the Pfr chromophore of Agp1 and Agp2. According to our spectra, the Agp2 chromophore most likely adopts an E anti stereochemistry at its C5 methine bridge. Thus, during Pr to Pfr conversion, the C5 methine bridge of the chromophore might undergo a Hula-twist isomerization. In Agp1, the Pfr chromophore is most likely in the C5 Z anti stereochemistry. We propose that the stereochemistry of the C5 methine bridge might differ between different phytochromes, most particularly in the Pfr form.